李清照·《声声慢》英译

Solitude

—to the tune of Shengshengman

Li Qingzhao

Seek, seek. Search, search.

Cold, cold. Empty, empty.

Misery, misery. Sorrow, sorrow. Sadness, sadness.

Suddenly the weather gets warmer.

Yet we still have periods of chill.

Therefore it is difficult to stay well.

I take two or three cups of mild wine.

How can such help me endure the cold evening wind?

When the wild geese fly overheard, I feel very sad,

Because they are my old friends from former times.

Yellow chrysanthemum petals pile up on the ground,

Withered and ruined. Will anyone pick them up again?

I remain by my window.

Why is the day so dark, all alone?

The Wutong¹tree collects raindrops.

Drip, drip, drop, drop, in the evening.

At such a time how can one word “sorrow” express all this?

1. Wutong tree: The kolanut tree which has leaves like human hands. It flourishes in the Autumn and is often planted in one’s courtyard.

（矛于美 译）

Sheng Sheng Man

Restless and lost,

Cold and lonely,

Wretched, miserable and anxious.

Early warmth laced with chill,

Hardest time for convalescing.

Two or three cups of light wine,

No antidote against the gusty evening wind.

Wild geese just flying by,

Heart-wrenching,

Turned out to be old acquaintances.

The yard piled up all over with yellow blossoms,

Withered and ruined,

Now none worth picking.

Vigil by the window alone,

What heavy time before dark!

Wutong trees on top of fine drizzling,

Until dark,

Dripping and trickling,

Things in this order,

How gloomy can the “gloom” be?

（任治稷、余正 译）

Sheng Sheng Man

(Song) Li Qing Zhao

I search and seek,

I’m lonely and depressed,

I’m sad, weepy, and feeling low.

When ‘tis suddenly warm but remains cold,

That is the time really hard to cope.

Two, three cups of light wine —

How are they to resist the assault of evening gusts?

A flock of wild geese flew past,

It hurts to hear them cry, though we’re old acquaintances.

Chrysanthemums lie about in piles.

They are now withered and which ones are worth picking?

Alone by the casement,

How am I to bear the darkness?

Add to this, the parasol and a thin rain falling.

By dusk time,

The dipping became incessant.

Steeped in a mood such as this,

To say I am sad is woefully inadequate.

（龚景浩 译）